Purdue biologist gets boost to unravel cells' secrets
A Purdue University scientist who studies the inner working of cells has been named a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, an appointment that could lead to insights into the causes of diseases such as cystic fibrosis.
Jue Chen, a structural biologist, will receive about $1.5 million a year for at least the next five years to support her and her Purdue lab as they delve into her research.
Chen is only the third person from an Indiana school to be named an investigator and the only one currently in Indiana.
The Hughes institute, a nonprofit research organization based in Chevy Chase, Md., planned to announce early today that 56 scientists from across the country, including Chen, had been chosen from among 1,070 applicants.
Purdue launches EcoliHub; unites scientists and information throughout the world
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind.
Purdue University announced Wednesday (May 7) the launch of EcoliHub, a central online source for information about the bacteria Escherichia coli.
Barry L. Wanner, who is leading the project, said E. coli has served as a model organism that has led to innumerable discoveries about fundamental cellular processes that are key to understanding all living cells.
Findings reveal how dengue virus matures, becomes infectious
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -
Biologists at Purdue University have determined why dengue virus particles undergo structural changes as they mature in host cells and how the changes are critical for enabling the virus to infect new host cells.
The findings pertain to all viruses in the family of flaviviruses, which includes a number of dangerous insect-borne diseases such as dengue, West Nile, yellow fever and St. Louis encephalitis. Dengue is prevalent in Southeast Asia, Central America and South America. The virus, which is spread by mosquitoes, infects more than 50 million people annually, killing about 24,000 each year, primarily in tropical regions.
The researchers detailed critical changes that take place as the virus is assembled and moves from the inner to the outer portions of its host cell before being secreted so that it can infect other cells. Virus particles are exposed to progressively less acidic conditions as they traverse this "secretory pathway," and this changing acidity plays a vital role in the maturation of the virus.
"This is possibly the most detailed understanding of how any virus matures," said Michael Rossmann, the Hanley Distinguished Professor of Biological Sciences.
The research is a collaboration of work in two Purdue laboratories, one operated by Rossmann and other operated by Jue Chen, an associate professor of biological sciences. They led the research with I-Mei Yu, a postdoctoral research associate working with Chen; and Long Li, a doctoral student working with Rossmann.
Findings are detailed in two back-to-back research papers appearing Friday (March 28) in the journal Science. The papers' co-authors include Yu, Li, Rossmann, Chen and Richard J. Kuhn, a professor and head of Purdue's Department of Biological Sciences.
